w 


^n    u  n    ^  mi 


i-' 


lijiil 
lliiilil!!! 


CARTOGRAPHY 

OF 

RHODE  ISLAND 


PROVIDENCE 
PRESTON  &  ROUNDS  CO. 


CONTRIBUTIONS 

TO 

RHODE    ISLAND    BIBLIOGRAPHY 

No.  Ill 


CARTOGRAPHY 

OF 

RHODE  ISLAND 


Des  Barras  Chart,  1776 


CARTOGRAPHY 

OF 

RHODE  ISLAND 


By 


HOWARD    MILLAR   CHAPIN 

Librarian  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society 


PROVIDENCE 
1915 


Notes  on  the  Cartogfraphy  of  Rhode  Island 

As  Rhode  Islanders  seek  to  entwine  their  early  history  with  Norse  mythology,  so  the 
earliest  references  to  Rhode  Island  place-names  must  be  sought  in  Norwegian  Sagas. 
Whether  or  not  the  Northmen  actually  visited  and  settled  in  Rhode  Island  is  a  matter  of  no 
vital  interest  to  this  study.  It  suffices  that  students  of  their  voyages,  such  as  Rafn,  Kohl  and 
Babcock  have  seen  fit  to  consider  that  Rhode  Island  was  the  southern  part  of  Vinland,  that 
Leifsbudir  was  a  settlement  on  the  east  side  of  Narragansett  Bay,  and  that  Thorfinnsbudir 
was  across  from  Leifsbudir  on  the  other  side  of  a  small  "hop"  or  "haup,"  which  in  Norse 
simply  means  "a  harbor."  This  "haup"  they  identify  as  Mount  Hope  Bay,  and  suggest  that 
later  Narragansett  Bay  itself  was  designated  by  this  name.  Rafn's  1843  ^^^P  of  Vinland  is 
the  earliest  attempt  to  locate  these  places  cartographically,  and  has  served  as  a  basis  for  the 
later  maps  of  Vinland.  Liefsbudir  is  shown  as  extending  along  the  shores  of  northern 
Tiverton  and  Fall  River,  with  Thorfinnsbudir  across  The  Haup  at  Mount  Hope,  Mount 
Hope  Bay  is  called  Hopsvatn.  This  and  other  modern  maps  of  Vinland  were  made  to 
illustrate  a  theory,  and  so  have  no  weight  in  the  historical  controversy.  No  ancient  maps 
show  the  location  of  those  places  named  in  the  Norse  Sagas.  These  names  vanished  as  the 
Norsemen  with  whom  they  came,  and  it  is  merely  an  interesting  coincidence  that  the  state's 
motto,  "Hope,"  the  name  borne  by  so  many  of  its  daughters,  and  used  so  frequently  as  a 
place-name,  should  have  virtually  the  same  sound  and  root  as  the  name  which,  according  to 
Rafn,  was  given  to  our  bay  by  the  Northmen. 

The  early  mapmakers  had  very  vague  ideas  of  New  England's  southern  coastline. 
Juan  de  la  Cosa  in  1500  shows  what  is  evidently  meant  for  Cape  Cod,  and  west  of  it  a  bay 
and  island  which  may  represent  either  Narragansett  Bay  and  Block  Island,  or  Buzzards  Bay 
and  Marthas  Vineyard.  Johann  Ruysch's  map  of  1508  is  somewhat  similar  and  fully  as 
indefinite  with  regard  to  the  New  England  coast  as  the  de  la  Cosa  map.  Accuracy  could 
not  be  expected  until  explorers  had  made  more  detailed  notes. 

On  April  21,  1524,  Giovanni  da  Verrazano,  a  French  corsair,  then  better  known  as  Juan 
Florentin,  a  name  derived  from  his  Itahan  birthplace,  sailing  in  the  "Delfina"  under  the 
banner  of  the  French  king,  dropped  anchor  in  Newport  Harbor.  The  island  south  of  the 
entrance  of  Narragansett  Bay  —  now  called  Block  Island  —  he  named  in  honor  of  the  mother 
of  the  King  of  France,  Francis  I.  His  mother  was  Louise  of  Savoy,  a  woman  of  great  ability 
and  power,  who  later  became  Regent  of  France,  so  that  Verrazano  called  the  island  "  L'isle 
de  Louise,"  although  he  simply  wrote  "  Battezzammola  in  nome  della  vostra  clarissima 
genitrice."  This  island  is  the  only  place  named  by  Verrazano  in  his  letter  to  the  king, 
describing  the  voyage.  He  likened  the  island  in  size  and  shape  to  the  isle  of  Rhodes,  and 
thus  unintentionally  became  responsible  for  the  present  name  of  Rhode  Island.  The  Isle 
de  Louise  appears  as  "  Luisa»"  on  Maggiollo's  1527  map,  and  as  "  Luisia"  on  the  pubHshed  copy 
of  the  map  of  Hieronymus  da  Verrazano,  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  Vatican  at  Rome. 

Subsequent  cartographers,  mistaking  the  name  of  the  king's  wife  "  Claudia  "  for  that  of 
his  mother  "  Louise,"  gave  the  name  of  "  Claudia  "  to  the  island,  and  with  similar  inaccuracy 
generally  misplaced  it;  as  on  Mercator's  map  of  1569,  Ortelius'  map  of  1570,  and  Lok's  map 
of  1582.  Lok's  map  purported  to  have  been  based  on  Verrazano's  own  maps,  which  are  now 
lost.  The  appearance  of  Louise  in  various  forms  on  the  maps  drawn  before  1530  disproves 
the  theory  that  "  mother  "  was  an  error  for  "  wife  "  in  the  surviving  text  of  Verrazano's  letter, 
and  throws  the  responsibility  for  the  mistake  upon  the  later  mapmakers. 

If  Giovanni  da  Verrazano  drew  maps  of  his  voyage,  they  are  not  now  extant,  so  that  the 
earliest  map  to  show  place-names  in  what  is  now  Rhode  Island  is  Maggiollo's  map  of  1527, 
which  was  based  upon  the  notes  of  Verrazano.     The  delineation  is  of  course  very  inaccurate. 


357021 


Besides  showing  and  naming  the  island  of  "  Luisa,"  he  shows  what  is  now  Point  Judith, 
giving  it  the  appellation  of  "C.  de  S.  Joani."  The  appearance  here  of  the  name  of  Verrazano's 
patron  saint  is  signiftcant.  Ccniihuing  easterly,  he  gives  "P.  Reale,''"C.  de  S.  Fransco," 
"Refugio,''  and  "Jovium  Pormtoriuz."  These  names  reappear  on  Ulpius'  map  of  1542  as 
"  C.  S.  lohan,"  "Porto  Reale,"  "S.  Franco,"  and  "  Promont  Refugium,"  in  this  order  from 
west  to  east,  the  latter  evidently  being  intended  for  the  "  C.  del  Refugio  "  of  Verrazano.  The 
"Anonymous  "  map  of  1527  also  places  "S.  Juan  baptista'"  at  this  locaUty,  referring  either  to 
the  point  or  bay. 

In  1529  Hieronymus  or  Jerome  da  Verrazano  drew  a  map  based  upon  his  brother's  notes, 
doubtless  the  "libretto"  mentioned  by  Giovanni  near  the  close  of  his  letter.  This  map  shows 
the  isle  "  Luisia,"  and  northeasterly  from  it  "  G.  del  refugio,"  identical  with  Newport  Harbor 
or  Narragansett  Bay,  and  the  same  as  the  "  Refugio  "  of  Maggiollo.  "  C.  del  Refugio,"  east 
of  the  gulf,  is  probably  meant  for  the  lower  end  of  the  island  of  Rhode  Island,  which  until 
1614  was  considered  part  of  the  mainland  and  identical  with  the  "Jovium  Pormtoriuz  "  of 
Maggiollo. 

Hieronymus  made  a  serious  mistake  in  his  latitudes,  placing  the  isle  of  Louise  in  47°  N, 
and  the  coastline  in  harmony  with  this,  although  Giovanni  had  expressly  noted  that  it  was 
located  near  41°  N.  This  confused  the  later  cartographers,  and  Gastaldi,  endeavoring  to 
harmonize  the  inaccuracies  of  the  current  maps  for  the  Ptolemy  of  1548,  followed  the  contour 
of  other  maps  up  to  40°,  and  then  northward  from  the  true  40  degrees,  followed  the  coastline 
which  Hieronymus  drew  as  extending  north  from  his  erroneously  placed  40°,  with  the  result 
that  the  coastUne  of  New  England  was  carried  northward  to  where  Nova  Scotia  should  have 
been,  and  Nova  Scotia  shown  still  further  north.  Verrazano's  "  p.  Refugio  "  is  shown  in  its 
new  location,  as  also  the  isle  of  Louise,  or  Luisa,  here  miscalled  "Brisa."  In  1556  Gastaldi 
made  another  map,  this  time  for  Ramusio's  book,  in  which  Brisa  became  "  Briso  "  through 
another  error  of  the  engraver. 

Mercator  in  1569,  having  seen  not  only  the  maps  of  Gastaldi,  but  also  the  letter  of  V^erra- 
zano,  followed  the  error  of  the  former  by  placing  "Briso"  in  the  latitude  of  Nova  Scotia,  and 
then,  following  Verrazano's  letter,  he  added  a  triangular  island  near  41°  N,  which  by  another 
error,  as  we  have  noted,  he  designated  by  the  name  of  "Claudia "  instead  of  "  Louise."  This 
map  thus  has  two  representations  of  the  isle  of  Louise,  one  misplaced,  and  both  misnamed. 
In  1582  Lok  corrected  one  error  by  omitting  "  Briso." 

It  is  quite  clear  that  the  early  cartographers  had  but  very  meagre  and  indefinite  ideas  of 
the  actual  contours  of  the  coasts  which  they  drew,  and  it  is  improbable  that  with  perhaps  the 
exception  of  Oviedo  they  really  attempted  definitely  either  to  show  or  to  name  Narragansett 
Bay.  Bays  are  shown  here  on  one  map  and  there  on  another  which  may  have  been  intended 
for  Narragansett  Bay,  and  the  designations  of  "C.  de  S.  Joani"  appearing  first  on  Maggiollo's 
map  of  1527,  "S.  Juan  baptista"  on  the  anonymous  1527  map,  and  "b.  de  Sanct.  Baptista"  on 
Chaves  map  of  1537,  show  the  tendency  of  early  mapmakers  to  attach  the  name  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  to  this  region,  sometimes  applying  the  name  to  Narragansett  Bay,  and  sometimes 
to  Point  Judith.  Once  clearly  by  mistake,  on  Lok's  map  of  1582,  "  Montes  S.  Johannis  " 
make  their  appearance.  As  De  Costa  says  in  his  article  on  Cabo  de  Arenas,  it 
appears  "  that  there  was  a  set  of  Johannean  names  always  used  in  this  part  of  the  old 
maps  with  the  same  regularity  that  characterizes  the  application  of  *  C.  Breton'  to  the 
farthest  extremity  of  the  coast."  In  his  description  of  the  American  coast  in  1537  Oviedo 
gives  a  description  of  the  "  Bahia  de  San  Johan  Baptista"  which  identifies  it  as  Narragansett 
Bay,  thus  corroborating  the  earlier  maps.  The  "  B.  de  S.  Juan  Bap."  appears  as  late  as  the 
Wytfleit  map,  which  was  published  between  1597  and  1603. 

Narragansett  Bay  was  also  designated  by  other  names,  as  "Baia  honda"  on  the  so-called 
Spanish  map  of  1541,  and  "  Baia  hermosa  "  on  the  Le  Testu  map  of  1555.  De  Costa  believes 
that  the  "  Bay  des  lies  "  on  Allefonsce's  1552  map  is  in  reality  an  attempt  to  show  the  "  Gulfo 
del  Refugio  "  of  Verrazano,  our  Narragansett  Bay. 


These  sixteenth-century  place-names  vanished  as  did  those  of  the  Northmen,  and  it 
remained  for  Adrian  Block  in  1614  to  rediscover  and  give  to  Block  Island  the  first  per- 
manent European  place-name  in  Rhode  Island. 

The  Dutch  "  Figurative  "  map  of  1616  may  well  be  considered  the  first  map  really  to  show 
in  detail  the  district  about  Narragansett  Bay.  It  is  a  map  of  the  "  Nie  Underlandt,"  drawn 
about  1 6 14  and  based  upon  the  explorations  of  Block,  It  was  presented  to  the  States- 
General  by  Witsen  in  1616,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  National  Archives  at  The  Hague. 
On  it  the  present  state  of  Rhode  Island,  then  inhabited  by  the  Wampanoag  Indians,  is  des- 
ignated as  "Wapanoos,"  with  Point  Judith  as  the  "  hoek  vande  Wapanoos."  Block  Is- 
land is  called  "  Adrian  bloxeyland,"  his  first  name  appearing  in  this  connection  on  Dutch 
maps  during  the  remainder  of  the  century.  The  Sakonnet  river  is  given  as  "  Nieuwe 
rivier,"  the  Pawcatuck  as  "  Oester  riviertjen,"  and  Mount  Hope  as  "  genseeyland."  "  sloup 
bay "  appears  across  East  Greenwich,  evidently  intended  to  signify  the  west  part  of 
Narragansett  Bay.  The  bay  is  of  course  crudely  drawn  and  the  islands  misshapen  and 
misplaced.  The  map,  however,  shows  the  district  far  more  accurately  than  any  previous 
production.  On  this  map,  for  the  first  time,  the  island  of  Rhode  Island  is  shown  as  an 
island,  a  fact  which  is  overlooked  by  most  of  the  subsequent  Dutch  map-makers,  who  make 
it  a  peninsula.  Conanicut,  through  some  curious  error,  appears  to  the  east  of  Rhode 
Lsland,  a  pecuHarity  characteristic  of  all  the  early  Dutch  maps  except  those  of  Colom  and 
Doncker.  This  is  also  the  first  map  on  which  Block  Island  is  so  designated,  and  the  first 
on  which  the  name  Sloup  Bay  is  appUed  to  Narragansett  Bay  or  more  particularly  to  the 
west  passage. 

The  next  map  of  this  part  of  the  country  is  that  drawn  by  Anthony  lacobsz  in  1621,  on 
which  he  shows  and  names,  besides  "  Adr.  Block  Eyl,"  "Oost  Rivier"  and  "  Sloep  bay," 
the  "  B.  de  Nassou,"  a  name  which  he  applies  to  the  Sakonnet  River,  thus  supplanting  the 
"  Nieuwe  Rivier  "  of  the  Figurative  map.  The  contour  of  the  bay  is  much  less  accurate  than 
that  of  the  earlier  map,  the  island  of  Rhode  Island  being  shown  as  a  peninsula. 

On  De  Laet's  map  of  1630,  Rhode  Island  is  shown  as  an  island,  and  Sloup  bay,  which 
is  variously  spelled  by  the  Dutch  map-makers,  is  given  as  "  Chaloup  bay."  Asher  states 
that  De  Laet  applied  the  name  "Anker  Bay"  to  part  of  Narragansett  Bay,  but  this  name 
does  not  appear  upon  the  De  Laet  maps,  which  I  have  examined.  There  are  indeed  con- 
.siderable  differences  in  some  of  the  various  editions  of  the  early  Dutch  maps. 

The  De  Laet  map  served  as  a  model  for  Hartgers,  1651,  Janssonius,  1658,  and  Schenk 
&  Valk,  1695,  maps.     Hartgers  adds  "  hoeck  van  de  Wapanoos"  and  "  Nahicans." 

On  Blaeu's  map  of  1635,  the  middle  section  of  Narragansett  Bay  is  called  "  Ancker  bay," 
while  the  West  Passage  and  the  Sakonnet  River  are  called  respectively  "  Chaloep  Bay  " 
and  "Bay  van  Nassouwe."  Blaeu  seems  in  general  to  have  followed  the  Figurative  and 
De  Laet  maps. 

Robert  Dudley  in  his  Arcano  del  Mare  of  1646,  copies  the  Dutch  cartographers,  particu- 
larly Blaeu.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Ooster  River  he  adds  the  names  "  C :  Ooster"  and 
"B:  Ooster,"  our  Watch  Hill  Point  and  Little  Narragansett  Bay.  Owing  to  a  slip  of  the 
engraver,  the  "t"  of  Ooster  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  a  "  b."  Point  Judith  is  given 
as  "C:  Chalop,"  and  Conanicut,  as  usual,  misplaced  to  the  east  of  Rhode  Island,  is  called 
"I  :  di  Nassaw."  "Nahicans"  supplants  the  "Wapanoos"  of  the  Figurative  map  on  which 
the  former  name  is  appUed  to  Long  Island.  Thus  is  reflected  the  increasing  power  of 
the  Narragansetts,  The  "peninsula  of  Aquidneck "  is  called  "C.  di  Anker  Bay,"  while 
Sakonnet  is  called  "  C  :  di  Nassaw,"  Bristol  Harbor  is  "  Golfo,"  and  the  western  shore  of 
Narragansett  Bay  bears  the  inscription  "  B;^*  del  Golfo." 

On  Colom's  map,  to  which  Rider  gives  the  date  of  1648,  "  Profedens,"  "Warrick,"  and 
"  Road  Eylandt "  make  their  first  appearance  in  printed  cartography.  "  Klips  kil "  desig- 
nates the  Warren  River,  and  Point  Judith  appears  as  "  Cabeljaus  Hoeck."  This  is  the 
eariiest   map    to    show    Conanicut    and    Rhode   Island  in   correct  relation   to  each   other. 


Rhode  Island  appears  as  an  island  and  Conanicut  is  peculiarly  misshapen.  Doncker  in  1660 
copied  Colom. 

The  Visscher  map  of  1656  is  the  earhest  of  a  series  of  Dutch  and  Enghsh  maps  of 
much  similarity.  Asher  believed  that  it  is  not  the  basis  for  the  rest  of  the  series,  but  is 
based  on  an  earlier  map  now  lost.  The  South  County  is  designated  as  "Wapanoos" 
with  "Pequatoos"  to  the  north  and  west.  "Nahicans"  as  well  as  "Roode  Eylant '' 
appears  upon  Aquidneck,  with  "Horicans"  to  the  east  of  the  Sakonnet  River.  The 
islands  in  the  bay  are  very  inaccurately  drawn  and  are  misplaced.  The  name  "Quetenis 
Eylant"  first  appears  on  this  map  as  the  designation  of  Dutch  island,  although  the 
island  itself  has  appeared  on  the  earlier  Dutch  maps.  The  river  at  the  head  of  the 
bay,  doubdess  the  Seekonk,  though  misplaced,  is  called  "  Rivier  Nassouw,"  and  the  name 
"  Rio  Nassouw  "  is  repeated  along  the  west  shore  of  the  Bay.  "  Sloep  Baye  "  appears  at  the 
south  of  "  Rio  Nassouw.*' 

The  nomenclature  and  delineadon  of  this  map  is,  as  far  as  Rhode  Island  is  concerned, 
the  same  as  that  used  on  the  maps  of  the  Allards,  the  Visschers,  Ottens,  Dancker, 
Lotter,  Seutter,  Reinier,  Montanus  and  Ogilby  and  on  the  1690  map  of  Schenk  &  Valk. 

The  map  in  Peter  Goos  Atlas  of  1675,  adds  no  new  place-names  in  Rhode  Island,  save 
a  new  spelHng  of  "  Rood  Eylant."  The  Goos  maps  are  more  accurate  than  the  previous 
maps,  but  are  inferior  to  the  charts  of  Roggeveen.  In  the  Enghsh  edition  of  Roggeveen, 
entitled  the  "Burning  Fen"  and  pubhshed  in  1676,  "Adriaen  Blockx  Eylandt"  and  "Rood 
Eyland "  have  individualized  spelling,  but  no  new  place-names  occur.  This  is  the 
earliest  chart  of  the  coast  of  Rhode  Island,  and  if  the  soundings  were  as  inaccurate  as  the 
delineations  they  could  have  been  of  but  Httle  use  to  navigators. 

Van  Keulen's  charts,  according  to  Asher,  show  "  Adriaen  Block  Eylant,"  "  Roo  Eylant," 
"  Adquidnenecke,"  "  Porta  Juda,"  "  Warwick,"  "  Cabeljaws  Hoeck,"  "  Nargansy  Bay,"  "  An- 
ker Bay,"  "Bay  Nassau,"  and  "Newport,"  but  the  Van  Keulen  chart  of  1784,  preserved 
in  the  Boston  PubHc  Library,  names  only  "Newport,"  "Warren,"  and  "Rhode  Island 
H--"  (Harbor). 

A  French  manuscript  map  of  1650,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives, 
names  "  Isle  de  Bloque  "  and  designates  Aquidneck  as  "  Sauvages  Narhicans.'" 

While  the  Dutch  cartographers  were  still  covering  the  Rhode  Island  section  of  their 
charts  with  Dutch  names,  Enghshmen  were  settling  the  district  and  fastening  permanently 
upon  it  an  assortment  of  Indian  and  English  place-names. 

The  Wilham  Wood  map  of  1634  is  the  first  Enghsh  map  to  show  the  Rhode  Island  dis- 
trict, and  the  earliest  map  on  which  "  Narrogan  setts  Bay"  occurs.  It  is  much  cruder  and 
far  more  inaccurate  than  the  "  Figurative  "  map  made  by  the  Dutch  eighteen  years  earUer. 
The  "  Narragansetts  R  "  is  shown  and  named,  but  it  is  not  clear  what  river  is  meant.  It  may 
have  been  intended  for  the  Pawtuxet  or  for  the  Providence  and  Woonasquatucket.  Bristol 
is  called  "  pocanokick  Sagamore,"  this  being  the  first  appearance  of  Pokanoket  on  a  map. 
To  the  south  of  Pokanoket  appears  a  church  with  the  name  "  Old  Plymouth,"  clearly  mis- 
placed. Block  Island  is  shown  but  not  named,  and  hke  the  other  islands  has  a  grotesque 
appearance.  As  this  map  was  drawn  two  years  before  the  arrival  of  Roger  Williams,  the 
absence  of  Enghsh  names  in  Rhode  Island  is  to  be  expected. 

On  the  Woodward  and  Saffery  manuscript  map  of  1642,  "Providence"  and  "Seakonk 
plain  "  appear.  The  Bay  Path  and  the  Trail  to  the  Connecticut  are  both  shown.  This  map  was 
the  first  of  the  long  series  of  maps  drawn  in  connection  with  the  Rhode  Island  boundary  dispute. 

John  Sellers'  map  of  1675,  based  in  general  on  the  earher  Dutch  maps,  served  as  the  model 
for  the  later  maps  of  Morden,  Blome,  Thornton,  Mather  and  Neal.  Seller  misspells  Paw- 
catuck  "  Racatuck,"  and  gives  the  Dutch  designation  of  "  Challops  bay'"  as  well  as  "  Nara- 
gansick  bay,"  an  unusual  spelling  of  the  Indian  name  by  which  the  English  settlers  knew  the 
bay.  The  "Providence  River,"  "East  Ham,"  "  Wickford,"  "Portsmouth,"  "  Pocasset," 
"  Canonicut  I,"  "  Warwick  "  "  Prudence  Isle,"  and  "  P.  luda"  are  named  on  his  maps. 


The  second  published  English  colonial  map  dealing  with  Rhode  Island  is  that  of  Hub- 
bard, issued  in  1677.  It  shows  "  Newper,"  "Rhode  Island,"  "  Prouidene,"  "  Monnt  hope," 
"Pocasset,"  "  Canonicut,"  "Warwick,"  "S.Kingstown,"  "  Canonicus's  Fort,"  "  Wickford," 
and  "  Naraganset."  It  is  far  less  accurate  than  the  contemporai )^  Fjutch  maps,  but  is  an 
improvement  over  that  of  Wood  made  almost  half  a  century  earlier.  Another  edition  shows 
variations  in  spelling, 

A  small  Morden  map,  perhaps  1688,  locates  a  town,  "  Surtherton,"  near  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island.  On  the  larger  Morden  map  of  1690,  "Providence" 
and  "  Warwick  "  appear  transposed  with  "  Eastham  "  between  them.  The  South  County  is 
designated,  as  "  The  Naragansets,"  and  Warren  as  "  Seaconk."  Mount  Hope  is  placed  too 
far  to  the  north.  The  district  northeast  of  "  Naragansets  Bay  "  is  called  "  Pokanakets,"  and 
Providence  County  is  called  "  Spaov  (Squaw)  Sachem,"  while  "  Massasoits  Country  "  appears 
still  farther  north. 

On  the  map  made  by  Thornton  a  few  years  later.  Providence  and  Warwick  are  correctly 
located,  and  "  Eastham  "  is  placed  between  Warwick  and  Wickford.  Prudence  Island  is 
misnamed  "  I  Providence,"  and  the  South  County  is  designated  as  "  Nincroft,"  a  corruption 
from  Ninigret,  the  Indian  sachem  of  those  parts. 

The  map  in  Cotton  Mather's  "  Magnaha  "  adds  "  Patiente  I,"  and  "  Potuxet  R  "  to  Rhode 
Island  cartography.  Wickford  is  misplaced  at  Narragansett  Pier,  while  "Buls"  appears 
north  of  Wickford.  "  Eastham  or  Namset"  is  located  north  of  "  Buls  "  on  a  harbor  which 
in  the  inaccurate  configuration  has  more  resemblance  to  Wickford  Harbor  than  to  Greenwich 
Cove.  "  New  Bristo  "  is  Bristol,  "  Swansey  "  is  Warren,  and  "  Seaconck  "  is  East  Providence. 
The  Woonasquatucket  River  is  called  the  "  Waer  River,"  a  name  which  persists  for  a  couple 
of  decades  on  Rhode  Island  maps.  "Mount  Prospect"  (inlet  perhaps)  appears  in  the  sea 
between  Block  Island  and  the  South  County,  which  latter  is  called  "Country  of  Naraganset." 
Westerly  is  called  "  Manchester,"  the  "  Swampfort"  is. shown,  and  "Geneva  or  Canonicus  " 
ppears  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  South  County.  Wabaquaset"  is  the  district  north  of 
the  Potuxet  R,  and  "  Quanabaug '"  is  north  of  "  Wabaquaset."  A  few  roads  are  shown. 
The  dehneation  of  the  islands  and  coast-Hne  is  very  inaccurate. 

The  Chart  of  Long  Island  Sound  and  its  approaches  drawn  by  British  Naval  officers 
about  1720  is  the  next  development  of  Rhode  Island  cartography.  Narragansett  Bay  is 
shown  as  an  almost  square  body  of  water,  with  its  islands  grossly  misdrawn  and  misplaced. 
Houses  are  shown  as  well  as  rocks  and  soundings,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  this 
data  is  more  accurate  than  the  contour  of  the  islands.  The  omission  of  Providence,  which  is 
supplanted  by  "  Attleborough,"  is  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  chart.  The  ocean  south 
of  Newport  is  called  "The  Sea  of  Rhoad  Island,"  while  the  mouth  of  the  Pawcatuck  is  called 
"  Mount  Prospect  Inlett."  Napatree  Beach  is  shown  simply  as  a  sandbar  under  water  with 
the  name  of  "  Fishers  Ledge,"  so  that  Little  Narragansett  Bay  does  not  appear.  Little 
Compton  is  called  "  Compton."  Two  descriptive  notes  read  as  follows :  "Rhoad  Island  a 
Garden  of  Farms  Navigable  for  small  Vessells,  and  a  place  of  great  Trade,  the  Ebbing  & 
Flewing  is  small,"  and  "Bristol  good  Ship  Harbour  great  way  from  the  Seaboard  trade  is 
Horses  &  some  Lumber  to  West  Indies."  This  inaccurate  chart  served  as  a  basis  for  the 
less  elaborate  charts  that  later  appeared  in  the  various  editions  of  the  Enghsh  Pilot.  The 
chart  dated  1731  in  the  1745  edition  has  changed  the  Point  Judei  of  the  1720  chart  to  P. 

Judith. 

***** 

We  now  come  to  the  first  map  of  Rhode  Island  as  an  entity.  This  is  the  John  Mumford 
map  of  1720.  It  was  made  by  order  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island  as  the  result 
of  a  request  from  the  British  Government  for  a  map  of  the  colony  in  connection  with  the 
disputed  boundary.  Besides  being  the  first  real  map  of  the  colony,  it  shows  the  boundaries 
as  claimed  by  Rhode  Island  and  by  the  abutting  colonies.  The  map  contains  a  large  number 
of  place-names  which  had  not  previously  appeared  upon  a  map.     Rumstick  Neck  bears  the 


i;      ()     \-      1       1)      K     N 


.^ 


f  i)         t 


!  ^ 


V- 


c^  ' 


W      \      X 


■  '>^- 

\   V 

\ 

A 

,, 

«i./i,'.'' 

4 


7(t 


r:^ 


Harris  Map,  1795 


words  "  Pocanockett  alias  Sawoomsett."'  The  "  Shunock,"  "  wood,"  and  "  asshauge  "  rivers 
bear  their  modern  names  with  minor  orthographical  changes,  although  the  Ashaway  is  called 
the  "  asshauge  or  Quequtuck."  The  map  is  far  more  accurate  than  any  previous  delineation 
of  the  lands  about  Narragansett  Bay. 

The  second  map  of  Rhode  Island  is  the  Helme-Chandler  map  of  1741.  This  was  drawn 
from  the  surveys  of  James  Helme  and  WilHam  Chandler,  who  were  employed  by  the  Royal 
Commissioners  appointed  to  report  on  the  disputed  boundaries  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island. 
The  original  manuscript  map  was  preserved  in  the  State  House  at  Albany,  where  it  was 
destroyed  by  the  fire  of  191 1.  Several  manuscript  copies  were  made  from  the  original,  and 
in  1848,  lithographs  were  made  from  one  of  these,  in  connection  with  the  proceedings  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  resulted  in  settling  the  disputed  points.  This 
map  contains  more  than  twice  as  many  place-names  as  appeared  on  the  Mumford  map.  The 
contour  of  the  coast-Hne  is  much  more  accurate,  and  nearly  all  the  islands  in  the  bay  are 
shown,  sufficiently  well-drawn  and  placed  that  they  can  be  identified. 

Jefferys  Map  of  New  England,  first  pubHshed  in  1755,  and  reprinted  in  1774,  is  the  first 
map  to  show  counties  in  Rhode  Island.  The  names  of  five  towns  not  on  the  Helme-Chandler 
map  also  make  their  appearance.  A  number  of  new  place-names  are  given,  although  the 
spelling  is  noticeably  inaccurate.  A  few  roads  are  shown  and  the  location  of  churches  is 
given. 

The  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  brought  with  it  two  accurate  charts  of  Narragansett 
Bay.  One,  surveyed  by  J.  F.  W.  Des  Barras  "in  pursuance  of  Directions  from  the  Lords 
of  Trade  to  His  Majesty's  Surveyor  General  for  the  Northern  District  of  North  America," 
and  "  PubHshed  at  the  Request  of  the  Right  Honourable  Lord  Viscount  Howe,"  20th  July, 
1776,  gave  the  soundings  in  the  lower  bay,  and  showed  accurately  the  topography  of  the 
shores  and  islands.  It  was  the  first  large  map  of  the  bay,  measuring  41  inches  by  28 >^,  and 
abounds  in  place-names  new  to  cartographers.  Restrikes  were  made  in  1881  from  the  original 
plate. 

The  Des  Barras  chart  was  followed  the  next  year  by  another  chart  almost  as  large  and 
of  considerably  more  detail.  It  was  surveyed  and  drawn  by  Charles  Blaskowitz,  "by  Order 
of  the  Principal  Farmers  on  Rhode  Island,"  whose  names  are  thereon  recorded.  It  was 
published  by  William  Faden  of  London,  who  dedicated  it  "To  the  Right  Honourable  Hugh 
Earl  Percy,  Baron  Percy,  etc.  .  .  .  Lieutenant  General  of  His  Majesty's  Forces  in  Great 
Britain  and  America."  Soundings  are  given  throughout  the  entire  bay,  together  with  forts, 
roads,  and  topographical  details.  This  chart,  translated  into  French  and  reengraved  with 
French  names,  was  pubHshed  at  Paris  in  1780,  and  is  known  as  "  The  French  Blaskowitz." 
Another  French  chart  of  Narragansett  Bay,  based  on  the  Blaskowitz  and  Des  Barras  charts, 
was  published  by  Le  Rouge  at  Paris  in  1778. 

The  published  maps  of  Lewis  and  Lodge,  together  with  the  manuscript  maps  of  Denison, 
and  Fage,  and  those  in  the  Faden  and  Rochambeau  collections  of  the  Library  of  Congress, 
illustrate  the  military  activities  in  Rhode  Island  during  the  Revolution.  As  these  maps  em- 
phasize the  miHtary  and  strategic,  rather  than  the  topographic,  they  add  scarcely  any  geo- 
graphical information. 

During  the  decade  following  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Rhode  Island  became  more 
conscious  of  its  individual  existence,  and  this  naturally  resulted  in  the  appearance  of  the  first 
published  maps  of  the  state.  Caleb  Harris  surveyed  the  state  and  supplied  the  notes  and 
data  that  enabled  Harding  Harris  to  draw  the  well-known  "  Harris  map  of  1795."  This  map 
was  printed  by  Carter  and  Wilkinson  at  Providence,  and  is  the  first  map  of  the  state  pub- 
Hshed as  a  separate  map.  A  smaU  map  of  Rhode  Island  appeared  in  Morse's  "  American 
Geography  "  for  1794,  which  is  the  first  published  map  of  the  state,  but  being  based  on  earlier 
maps  of  New  England,  it  adds  virtually  nothing  to  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  state. 
The  Harris  map,  on  the  other  hand,  is  2i>^  inches  by  16,  and  is  the  first  map  to  show  details 
,    of  topography  and  place-names  in  the  inland  towns  of  the  state.     This  Harris  map  was  many 


times  republished,  in  reduced  as  well  as  in  augmented  forms,  and,  together  with  the  Blaskowitz 
chart,  served  as  a  basis  for  the  Rhode  Island  maps  of  the  early  nineteenth  century.  On  the 
Harris  map,  the  Sakonnet  River  is  called  the  East  "  Passage,"  the  name  now  used  to  designate 
that  part  of  the  bay  that  lies  east  of  Conanicut  and  west  of  the  island  of  Rhode  Island.  The 
principal  roads  are  shown  throughout  the  state.  A  map  of  Rhode  Island  was  published  in 
German  by  Sotzmann  at  Hamburg  in  1797.  In  1819  Benoni  Lock  wood  drew  a  map  of  Rhode 
Island  for  Pease  and  Niles  Gazetteer  and  based  it  upon  the  Harris  map,  with  additions  of 
his  own. 

In  1821,  Amos  Lay  of  New  York  began  the  preparation  of  a  new  map  of  Rhode  Island. 
It  was  found  to  be  so  expensive  an  undertaking  that  he  applied  to  the  Legislature  for  state 
aid.  They  voted  that  the  state  should  purchase  1 2  copies  of  his  map  for  $60.  Two  years 
later  Lay  turned  the  undertaking  over  to  Ariel  Van  Haun  of  Westerly  and  James  Stevens  of 
Newport.  Stevens  did  the  surveying  and  finally  assumed  the  entire  work  of  publishing  the 
map.  The  Legislature  increased  the  number  of  maps  to  be  purchased  by  the  state  from  12  to 
137,  and  allowed  Stevens  to  raise  $2000  by  a  lottery.  The  work  progressed  slowly,  and  it  was 
notuntil  1831  that  the  map  was  issued,  10  years  after  the  first  recognition  of  it  by  the  Legislature. 
The  map  included  soundings  in  the  bay.  It  was  printed  in  colors,  and  was  42  inches  by  26, 
with  wooden  rollers  at  top  and  bottom. 

Meanwhile  Capt.  Alexander  Wadsworth  had  been  making  a  new  series  of  soundings 
throughout  the  bay  for  the  Federal  Government.  The  results  of  this  appeared  in  the  first 
United  States  Government  chart  of  Narragansett  Bay,  which  was  issued  in  1832,  the  year 
following  the  publication  of  Stevens'  map. 

The  Stevens  map  served  as  a  basis  for  the  Gushing  and  Walling  map  of  1846  and  so  in 
a  sense  became  the  ancestor  of  the  WalHng  maps  of  1855,  1862,  and  1863,  although  Henry  F. 
Walling  made  extensive  surveys  himself  and  incorporated  the  results  of  his  work  in  these 
maps.  The  later  Walling  maps  contain  a  large  number  of  inset  maps  of  the  principal  cities 
and  villages.  Walling  followed  the  example  set  by  Stevens  and  succeeded  in  getting  the 
state  to  subscribe  $2100  for  700  copies  of  his  mapj 

The  Beer's  Atlas  of  1870,  showing  much  detail  in  its  local  maps,  was  a  new  departure  in 
Rhode  Island  cartography  and  a  forerunner  of  the  Everts  and  Richards  Adas  of  1895. 

In  1872,  after  the  resurveying  of  the  bay  by  Benjamin  Peirce,  the  Federal  Government 
planned  to  issue  a  chart  of  the  bay  in  28  sheets  on  the  scale  of  1/10,000.  Only  eight  of  these 
sheets  were  issued,  and  in  the  following  year,  1873,  the  government  issued  a  chart  of  the  bay 
in  a  single  sheet  on  the  scale  of  1/40,000.  This  chart  "with  later  corrections  for  aids  to  navi- 
gation "  has  been  reissued  at  short  intervals. 

In  1891,  the"  Topographical  Map  "  of  Rhode  Island  was  made,  being  based  on  the  survey 
of  the  state  that  had  been  carried  on  jointly  by  the  State  and  Federal  Governments.  It  was 
first  issued  in  15  sheets  by  the  Government.  Additions  and  corrections  were  then  made  to  the 
plates  and  the  map  was  reissued  by  the  state  both  as  a  single  wall  map  and  in  atlas  form. 
J.  C.  Thompson  acted  as  distributing  agent.  After  his  retirement  from  business,  the  remainder 
of  the  wall  maps  were  sold  to  Pabodie,  while  the  remainder  of  the  atlases  were  sold  to  Preston 
&  Rounds.  Thompson  also  issued  smaller  maps  of  the  state,  based  upon  the  topographical 
map.     These  smaller  maps,  with  additions,  have  been  issued  from  time  to  time  by  Pabodie. 

The  Everts  and  Richards  map,  and  particularly  their  Adas  of  1895,  based  not  only  on 
the  government  maps  of  1873  ^^d  1891,  but  also  upon  their  own  surveys,  goes  much  further 
into  detail,  and  becomes  virtually  an  adas  of  plats.     This  Adas  was  sold  by  subscription. 

Of  the  Rhode  Island  maps  that  illustrate  some  special  feature,  the  most  important  are  : 
the  Geological  map  of  Rhode  Island,  which  was  issued  by  Charles  T.  Jackson  in  1840;  the 
"map  showing  the  Revolutionary  Fortifications  in  Rhode  Island"  by  Norman  M.  Isham, 
published  in  Fields' "  Revolutionary  Defences  of  Rhode  Island";  and  the  map  of  the  lands 
of  Rhode  Island  as  they  were  known  to  the  Indians,  issued  by  Sidney  S.  Rider  in  1903.  The 
state  has  also   published  detailed  maps  of  the  boundaries  of  the  state  as  they  have  been 


definitely  established  and  marked.  The  United  States  Fish  Commission  caused  a  plaster 
model  of  the  bay  to  be  made,  showing  in  relief  the  topography  of  the  bottom,  islands  and 
shores  of  the  bay.     This  model  is  preserved  at  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society. 

Pabodie  in  Providence,  Walker  in  Boston,  and  various  atlas  publishers  have  issued  at 
intervals  maps  of  Rhode  Island.  These  maps,  however,  have  been  based  in  general  upon 
the  topographical  atlas  of  1891,  with  minor  additions  and  corrections. 


I' 


iiitiHilili 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


i 


OCT  31  1946 


m 
mm 


RECEiViLU  BY 


fE& 


,0  p;>*T 


msam^^t 


FEB 


.0  \^^ 


giiteouttoH  DOT. 


SENT  ON  ILL 


AUG  2  1  2001 


U.  C.  BERKELEY 


LD  21-100m-7,'40 (6936s) 


1  O      ilUM^U  / 


U.C.BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CDMbDfifiSES 


-^^70^- 


.      :/%^ 
^C^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


